MARBLE – N.C. Department of Transportation and local elected officials, family members and friends gathered in Cherokee County on Friday morning to dedicate a bridge in Rev. Fred B. Lunsford’s honor.
The Baptist preacher had the final word at the ceremony.
Rev. Fred B. Lunsford delivers closing remarks during a ceremony to dedicate a bridge on N.C. 141 in his honor.
“Remember one thing, it’s by the grace of God you are who you are,” Lunsford said from his corner seat in the front-row pew at Marble Baptist Church.
“I want to thank each and every one of you for this event,” he said. “I feel humbled but honored in a tremendous way to have a bridge named in my honor. It is true, without the grace of God I’d be nothing.”
A two-lane bridge on N.C. 141 that leads to Georgia is now known as the Rev. Fred B. Lunsford bridge. New green signs on both ends of the bridge proudly announce the honor.
“We dedicate a steel bridge, but we will always benefit emotionally, intellectually, spiritually because of the bridge that God gave us through this man,” Dr. Chester Jones said. “I pay my respect and join in extending this tribute to a life well lived.”
Parts of the NCDOT resolution approving the dedication read, “Rev. Lunsford has received many local and state awards, including the lifetime service award from the Southern Baptist Convention Seminary Extension Ministry, the North Carolina Convention’s Baptist Heritage Award and the North Carolina Order of the Long Leaf Pine.”
He is a man of great character, full of kindness, with a heart big enough to warm in even the coldest of mountain winters.
Born in March of 1925, he later wed Gladys Green and remained married for more than 70 year until her passing in 2014. Reverend Lunsford is a decorated Army veteran who served during the Normandy Invasion, the Battle of the Bulge and the Liberation of France.
Closer to home, he served in the ministry of Christ as a Baptist preacher and evangelist for more than seventy years. He served as director of the Missions of the Truett Baptist Association where he established services for citizens with special needs. He helped create the Truett Baptists Camp, the Broyhill Children’s Home, and the Truett Children’s Home while also supporting other philanthropies including the Murphy Medial Center Foundation and Mars Hill University.
During the dedication emceed by Division 14 Engineer Wanda Austin, Cherokee County Board of Commissioners vice chairman Jan Griggs eloquently summarized Lunsford’s accomplishments, Jones wove tales from history into the fabric of today, and Randolph Case presented a quilt from the Quilts of Valor. Lunsford’s son, Dan, delivered a warm speech of gratitude before Rev. Lunsford delivered the closing speech.